Rescue teams will soon have access to global aircraft tracking data

US Homeland Security Department planning to use Facebook, Twitter for terrorism alerts

It looks like we finally know what the US Department of Homeland Security plans to use instead of the now infamous color-coded terrorism alert system. According to a draft document obtained by the Associated Press, the department's new system will simply have two levels of alerts -- "elevated" and "imminent" -- and it seems those warnings will even be published online using Facebook and Twitter "when appropriate." There's no word as to exactly how those alerts will be published, however, or any indication that the two companies have actually committed to aiding the department in any way, for that matter. We should know more soon enough, though -- the new system is expected to be in place by April 27th.